This is Paul. At first gance, he seems like a raging ____________ with all that hell condemnation stuff.
Maybe he ___/___n't.
I talked to him a few times. He's been to my _______ the last _____ semesters. He's a _________ dude, and as far as I can tell, the loony signals _________/_________ not going off.
Although the sign is fascinating in itself, I was most intrigued by the students. Our focus tends to shift to the words on the sign that many of us reject. This sign is very _________ to a lot of people, but let us also consider that Paul is actively demonstrating his protected ________ ammendment right. Whether or not we agree with the dude does not matter--we must ask ourselves who is more _________? Paul, or those mocking, taunting, and occasionally, physically attacking him. Whatever and whoever is at blame, it isn't __________, for either side. The sign invokes hostility, but the reaction of those around him is downright __________. The man marches peacefully, or as peacefully as one can while ____________ everyone to __________. If you argue, he'll argue back. If you ask, he'll speak, and give you a business card.
(by the way, each photo is scanned at 1200dpi. If you don't know what that means, just click on the small picture, and watch it become a big picture.)
Would you believe he rode out of there on a bicycle?
Before doing so, I asked him, "So, what's next? It's a beautiful day--what do you do when you're not holding a sign condemning people to hell?"
He pondered for a moment, slowly breathed out, and as if he had just got off a six-hour foot-patrol through the streets of Baghdad, said in a relaxing manner--"I think I'll go work on my boat."
6 comments:
Thanks for this post; it says a lot. Strange how the fringe elements, both right and left, seem to be winning, while sanity and calm discussion is taking a backseat. Ah, such is life.
When I see things like this I always remember something my Mother told me ...it stays with me after all these years and tears ...'Freedom of speech is not just for people you agree with' Remembering that has always helped center me. It is interesting how much more profundity black and white pictures seem to have...maybe that is just me. By the way, I am glad you have been able to go to school
hey 13 i have a request man... me and my wife love taking pictures, but both of us admittingly know nothing about photography... shes on this "im going to make a career out of photography kick" but has yet to take a class or learn anything about it... is there anyway you could drop her a line on her page and impart some wisdom on her for me... i dont care if she wants to do this or not.. i just think her aspirations are a little premature... to me its like deciding that you want to make a living being a painter before you learn how to paint... what do you think...
Wow. Crowd pictures are tough but you've got some real winners here.
My fav: "Save Me From This Man"!
That's a whole paragraph worth of words right there.
As usual, lots of questions: where was this, how fast was the film, what lenses, what kind of paper did you print on, do you dodge/crop????
~P~
P,
It was at Pasadena City College. I had spoken with Paul when he was at my school, and asked him if I could follow him for a day for a photo documentary project. I sent him an email, and drove out to Pasadena from OC. This whole day was shot at ASA100, with my Bronica ETRSi (645), and the standard Zenzanon PE 75mm lens. These photos are not prints, but you CAN see some of the prints at http://jasondavisphotography.blogspot.com
Also, if you click on the photos, you should be able to tell what was shot by 35mm, though same film. It was my backup for the day, but ended up shooting 3 rolls of 35, and 3 rolls of 120. When I shoot medium (almost always), I carry my Sekonic light meter.
When I print, I only print by split-filter, with Ilford B/W Glossy Fiber photo paper, between 8x10 and 11x14. I always dodge/burn, and NEVER crop.
Nught,
You're gonna have to send me an email, and then you can paste what I say as an anonymous comment if you'd like. :)
There are some lovely pictures in here. I especially like the capture of interaction between faces. Nice!! z
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